Container



March 16, 1965 c. s. cuRTis CONTAINER Filed Jan. 25, 1963 INVEN TOR.

W4 w w WW M United States Patent O 3,173,464 CONTAINER'- Cora S. Curtis,4631 Broadway, Indianapolis, Ind. Filed Jan. 23, 1963, Ser. No. 253,443

. 4 Claims. (Cl. 150-1) This invention relates generally to containersand more particularly to a container well suited to storage of articlessuch as unsoiled diapers Ifor example.

Heretofore, various means have been used for the storage of unsoileddiapers. Examples are cabinets, dressers, shelves, and tables. Aftercompletion of the present invention, and prior to the preparation ofthis patent application, a search was Vconducted and revealed anadditional device for the storage of diapers. This device is shown anddescribed i-n the patent to Mary F. Swinney, issued October 28, 1952.

Yet, all of the known means have important shortcomings and leave muchto be desired.

It is, therefore, a general object of this invention to provide improvedmeans for the storage of diapers and other articles.

A further object is to provide means well suited to convenient mountingat any desired location in a room.

A further object is to provide means of extremely nominal cost and whichis well adapted to contributing a decora-tive effect wherever employed.

A further object is to provide means achieving the foregoing objects andwhich can be readily laundered.

The full nature of this invention will be understood from theaccompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a typical embodiment of the presentinvention mounted upon a wall.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross section through the container of FIG. l takenat a plane located equidistantly from the sides of the container, withthe central portion of the container being omitted to conserve space inthe drawing.

FIG. 3 is a section taken along the line 3 3 in FIG. l and viewed in thedirection of the arrows.

FIGl 4 is a section taken along the line 4--4 in FIG. l and viewed inthe direction of the arrows.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section taken at the same location as that ofFIG. 4 but illustrating the condition of the cloth portion of thecontainer prior to gathering on a support member.

Referring to the drawings in detail, the illustrated embodiment of thecontainer includes a front wall 11, rear wall 12, left-hand side wall 13and right-hand side wall 14. All four of these walls are formed from asingle homogeneous sheet of material with the left-hand edge of thesheet facing the right-hand edge thereby forming a slit '15 in the frontwall. While a variety of materials may be used, a decoratively-printedbroadcloth is quite acceptable. A floor 16 is provided which also may beof broadcloth secured to the lower margins of lthe walls 11-14 by meansof stitching such as at 17 (FIG. 2). A rectangular board 18 is mountedon the floor 16 and provides the lateral support resulting in theformation of the four walls. Means other than a board may be ernployedfor providing lateral support to produce the four walls.

A covering for the board 18 can be provided in the form of a cloth piece19 which is preferably secured to the lower margins of the Walls by thestitches 17 at the same time the floor 16 is secured thereto. Byavoiding stitching or only loosely stitching the rear margin 21 of thepiece 19 to the oor or rear wall 12, installation and removal of theboard 18 is facilitated. In this instance, the floor 16 and piece 19form a pocket for the board 18. Where the container is to be used fordiapers 20, a rectangular 3,173,464 Patented Mar. 16, 1965 ICC board81/2 inches by ll inches, for example, may be used.

Adjacent the upper margins 22 and 23 of the front and rear wallsrespectively, these walls are secured together by two rows of stitches24 and 26. They, therefore, provide a passageway 27 to accommodate asupporting member which is typically provided in the form of a wood rodor bar 28. The slit 15 in the front wall provides a break 29 in thefront wall of the passageway. The bar 28 may conveniently be made of alength somewhat less than one-quarter of the distance around theperimeter of the board 18. It will be seen, therefore, with the help ofFIG. 5, that the bar 28 can be inserted through the break 29 in thefront wall 11 and into the left-hand side or portion of the passageway27. The point of the thumb tack 31 can then be pressed through the clothand into the end of the bar 28 to secure the cloth to the bar at the endof the bar. The vertical location of Ithe bar with respect to thematerial is controlled by the two rows 24 and 26 of stitches.

When the bar has thus been secured at its left-hand end, the material tothe right thereof can be gathered toward the left-hand end. Likewise,the material to the right of break 29 can be gathered onto the barthereby moving bar 28 into the right-hand portion of the passageway 27.The material of the bag can then be secured to the right-hand end of thebar by the thumb tack 32 in the same manner as was done at the left-handend. When thus assembled, the appearance in the region of the bar issubstantially as shown in FIG. l and in the section of FIG. 4.

The strap 36 may then be attached directly at points 37 and 38 to eitherthe front or rear wall of the container adjacent the upper margin. Thestrap, which may be made of cloth, may be used to support the containeron a picture hook 39 or any other hook mounted to a wall 40 or a door.When the container is hanging, the side walls bow outwardly slightly asindicated at 42 in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 presenting a gently curved outlinewhen viewed from the front.

The edges 43 and 44 of the single sheet of material forming the fourwalls of the container may be hemmed if desired, though this is not atall necessary. A decorative border material 45 may be secured to thematerial at the slit 15 if desired. The slit 15 not only provides accessto the interior of the container but also facilitates installation andremoval of the bar 28. Accordingly, no holes need be located and punchedin the material 4to allow insertion of the rod.

The great simplicity of construction of the present invention not onlypermits its production at a low cost and with conventional equipment andunskilled personnel, but also permits the container to be veryattractive, durable and easily laundered. It can be made to hold anynumber of diapers. If desired, pockets may be provided on the containerto hold talcum powder and other items. An example is pocket 46 in FIG.1.

It will be readily recognized that many types of materials and colors offabrics with a wide variety of decorative prin-ts can be used with thepresent invention. This is facilitated because the four walls can bemade of a single sheet of material, thereby avoiding any problem ofmatching of patterns.

A waterproof material can be used, such as plastic with welded ratherthan stitched seams. The slit can be closed and welded yfor a desireddistance up Ifrom the licor. The container thereby is suitable forsoaking soiled diapers.

While the invention has been disclosed and described in some detail inthe drawings and foregoing description, they are to be considered asillustrative and not restrictive in character, as other modificationsmay readily sug- U gest themselves to persons skilled in this art andwithin the broad scope of the invention, reference being had to theappended claims.

The invention claimed is:

1. A container comprising: a `front wall, a rear wall, a left-hand sidewall and a right-hand side wall, all'of said :wallsbeing formed by asingle homogeneous sheet of material; aoorv joining said walls;4 supportmeans adjacent Ythe upper margin of said walls to'support said front andrear walls; a pocket forming piece located adjacent said Ifloor andjoined to said floor toform a pocket; and a board dispose'din saidpocket thereby'laterally supporting fsaid front and rear and side walls,substantially all of said board being enclosed by said pocket. 2. Acontainer comprisingz' a -front wall, a rear wall, a left-hand sidewalland a vright-hand side wall, all of said walls being formed Vbyr asingleho'rnogeneous sheet of material; a floor-joining saidv'walls; arod/adjacent the upper margin of said walls to support said front andrear walls, said front wall meeting and being secured to said rear wallalong two lines adjacent said rod, one line being above said rod and theother line lbeing below said rod,

the portions of said front and rear walls between said lines therebyforming a passageway for said rod.

3. The container of claim 2 wherein said rod is penetrable by a metaltack and said sheet is gathered on said rod, and metal tacks havingportions piercing said sheet and embedded in the ends ofisaid rod securesaid sheet in gathered condition on said rod.-

4. The container of claim 3 wherein saidfront wall has a slit therein,said slit'extending from the lower margin of said wall through a pointbelow saidrod and through a point above said rod to the upper margin ofsaid wall and therebyproviding a break in said passageway, said break`accommodating vremoval of said rrodfrom said passageway.

` References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS FRANKLIN T.GARRETT, Primary Examiner.

1. A CONTAINER COMPRISING: A FRONT WALL, A REAR WALL, A LEFT-HAND SIDEWALL AND A RIGHT-HAND SIDE WALL, ALL OF SAID WALL BEING FORMED BY ASINGLE HOMOGENEOUS SHEET OF MATERIAL; A FLOOR JOINING SAID WALLS;SUPPORT MEANS ADJACENT THE UPPER MARGIN OF SAID WALLS TO SUPPORT SAIDFRONT AND REAR WALLS; A POCKET FORMING PIECE LOCATED ADJACENT SAID